| US slams Russia, China at UN for failure to condemn embassy attack Posted: 06 Jan 2020 01:40 PM PST  The United States on Monday slammed Russia and China for their failure to condemn an attack last week on its Baghdad embassy by pro-Iranian demonstrators. "Not allowing the United Nations Security Council to issue the most basic of statements underscoring the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises once again calls the council's credibility into question," the US statement said. The attack on the Baghdad embassy, which did not result in any injuries, was meant to protest against a US airstrike against Ketaeb Hezbollah (KH), an Iranian-backed militia which the US blames for rocket attacks on its facilities in northern Iraq that resulted in the death of a US contractor.
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| Australia’s Wildfire Crisis: Key Numbers Behind the Disaster Posted: 06 Jan 2020 02:05 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Australia is in the grip of deadly wildfires burning across the country, triggering an emotive debate about the impact of climate change in the world's driest-inhabited continent. The unprecedented scale of the crisis, and images of terrified tourists sheltering on beaches from the infernos, has shocked many Australians.With summer only just beginning and the nation affected by a prolonged drought, authorities fear the death toll will continue to mount as more homes and land are destroyed. Here are some key details of the crisis:How many people have died?Since the fire season began months ago during the southern hemisphere winter, at least 24 people have died. Among the fatalities are volunteer firefighters, including a young man who died when his 10-ton truck was flipped over in what officials have described as a "fire tornado." Australia's worst wildfires came in 2009 when the Black Saturday blazes left 180 people dead.How big an area has burned?Massive tracts of land have burned. More than 10 million hectares (25 million acres) have been destroyed -- that's about five times the size of Wales, or larger than Indiana. In New South Wales state alone, almost 5 million hectares of forest and bush has been destroyed, while more than 1.1 million hectares has been burned in Victoria. The fires are so large they are generating their own weather systems and causing dry lightning strikes that in turn ignite more. One blaze northwest of Sydney, the Gospers Mountain fire, has destroyed almost 512,000 hectares -- about seven times the size of Singapore.The scale of the blazes dwarfs the California wildfires in 2018, which destroyed about 1.7 million acres, and about 260,000 acres in 2019.How many homes have been destroyed?Some 1,400 homes have been destroyed in New South Wales alone this fire season and the tally is rising daily as the fires continue to burn and authorities assess damage. Scores of rural towns have been impacted, including the community of Balmoral about 150 kilometers southwest of Sydney, which was largely destroyed before Christmas.What's the economic impact?That's still to be assessed. The Insurance Council of Australia says 6,000 claims worth A$431 million ($299 million) have been lodged. Consultancy SGS Economics and Planning has estimated that Sydney's economy loses as much as A$50 million each day it is blanketed with a toxic haze from smoke billowing in from the fires. An inquiry into the Black Saturday fires estimated the cost at A$4.4 billion. More broadly, the economy faces pressure from increasingly severe heat and storms from climate change, threatening industries ranging from agriculture to property to tourism. Australia's Climate Council estimates cumulative damage from reduced agricultural and labor productivity might reach A$19 billion by 2030, A$211 billion by 2050 and a massive A$4 trillion by 2100.How has wildlife been affected?The University of Sydney estimates that 480 million animals have been killed by the bushfires in New South Wales alone since September. The "highly conservative figure" includes mammals, birds and reptiles killed either directly by the fires, or later due to loss of food and habitat. The fires have raised concerns in particular about koalas, with authorities saying as much as 30% of their habitat in some areas had been destroyed. Images of the marsupials drinking water from bottles after being rescued have gone viral on social media.\--With assistance from Jason Scott.To contact the reporter on this story: Edward Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Edward Johnson at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net, Jason ScottFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| From Iran With Love: North Korean Drones Are Sure To Fight In Its Next War Posted: 05 Jan 2020 11:30 PM PST  North Korea will learn from Iran's experiences.
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| Jeffrey Epstein investigation finds letter in prison cell complaining about being locked in shower and 'giant bugs' crawling across his hand Posted: 06 Jan 2020 01:36 PM PST  A new investigation of the circumstances surrounding the death of Jeffrey Epstein has made public several new pieces of evidence, including photos of his jail cell showing a number of bed sheets, prescription medicine and an apparent note written by the convicted sex offender complaining about jail conditions before his death.The paedophile financier was awaiting trial in New York's Metropolitan Correctional Centre in downtown Manhattan when his body was found in his cell in August. The circumstances of his death, ruled a suicide by the New York medical examiner, have sparked considerable speculation, given the powerful company he kept that included Bill Clinton, Donald Trump and Prince Andrew.
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| Mother of Texas baby on life support talks amid court battle Posted: 06 Jan 2020 01:27 PM PST  A woman awaiting a court decision in her battle against a Texas hospital's plan to end life-sustaining treatment for her 11-month-old daughter spoke out Monday after revoking the medical center's permission to talk about her child's treatment. "This situation takes away my job as a mother and lets other people who don't even know her decide whether her life is worth living," Trinity Lewis said during a news conference outside the hospital. Doctors at Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth insist Tinslee Lewis is in pain and will never recover.
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| How Many of These Tough Logic Puzzles Can You Solve? Posted: 06 Jan 2020 12:45 PM PST |
| United flight delayed? The airline is changing how it handles delay payouts Posted: 06 Jan 2020 12:06 PM PST  United is making a change — it won't "proactively" give customers refunds for flights delayed less than six hours.
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| Democratic candidate Michael Bloomberg clinched his first celebrity endorsement — and it's Judge Judy Posted: 06 Jan 2020 11:42 AM PST  Judge Judy, whose real name is Judith Sheindlin, appeared in a campaign ad released on Monday giving her support to Michael Bloomberg.
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| Soleimani’s Daughter Warns Families of U.S. Troops: ‘Waiting for the Death of Their Children’ Posted: 06 Jan 2020 06:15 AM PST  The daughter of slain Iranian general Qasem Soleimani warned the families of U.S. soldiers to expect the imminent "death of their children" at her father's funeral on Monday."Families of the American soldiers in western Asia have witnessed America's humiliation in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Yemen, and [the] Palestine wars," Zeinab Soleimani said in a speech to mourners. She said the families "will spend their days waiting for the death of their children."President Trump ordered the killing of Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard's elite Quds Force, on Thursday in a precision drone strike at Baghdad International Airport. American officials said Soleimani was planning an "imminent attack" on U.S. forces and facilities in the region.Soleimani was at the head of Iranian war efforts in Syria, and according to the U.S. is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans in Iraq since the 2003 invasion. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians turned out for the general's funeral. Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who led prayers at the funeral, openly wept over Soleimani's casket.The general's successor as head of the Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, told state television that "the minimum retribution for us is to remove America from the region." President Trump told reporters on Friday that Soleimani's killing was not intended as a prelude to regime change."We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war," Trump said. Following threats of revenge by Iranian officials, Trump warned over the weekend that the U.S. would strike dozens of targets in Iran, including "cultural sites," in response to any escalation."Iran has been nothing but problems for many years," Trump wrote on Twitter on Sunday. "Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have targeted 52 Iranian sites…some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD."
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| U.S.-EU Trade Talks Vexed by Drums of a Real War Posted: 06 Jan 2020 04:00 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Want to receive this post in your inbox every day? Sign up for the Terms of Trade newsletter, and follow Bloomberg Economics on Twitter for more.The drums of war beating in Washington sound a lot more ominous than the kind accompanying tariff threats.That doesn't mean the escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran won't have consequences for other relationships or global trade. They could well contribute to the revival of trade conflicts that markets have convinced themselves are in the rear-view mirror now that 2020 is upon us.But no trade or strategic relationship is likely to be tested faster or harder than the already fragile one with Europe.The Trump administration's decision to abandon the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that European Union powers were co-signatories to was a pre-existing source of tension, with European companies caught in the sanctions crossfire. Now that Iran has pulled the plug as well in the wake of the killing of a top Iranian general, things are unlikely to get better. Also causing friction were Trump's now frozen plans to levy tariffs on imported cars and more live ones to target champagne and other French products over France's digital services tax. Duties imposed in relation to a long-running trade feud between Airbus and Boeing haven't helped either. Those issues look episodic compared to what seems a lot like a broader breakdown in trans-Atlantic relations. It doesn't take much digging to establish that many in the Trump administration view the powers in Europe and institutions of the EU with an instinctive contempt. Trump, after all, has repeatedly called the EU (officially a U.S. ally) worse than China (an officially designated existential rival) on matters including trade. What irks the president and people close to him most may be Europe's defense of technocratic multilateralism and EU officials' refusal to bow to Trump's tariffs and other efforts to pressure them into even pretending to make a deal on American terms (an art China may well have mastered). European officials, meanwhile, view Trump's attack on the World Trade Organization and other pillars of the rules-based order as a peculiar populist's tantrum. Spend any time discussing trans-Atlantic relations with European officials and the emotion you run into quickly is bemusement. They relay specific complaints about the U.S.'s refusal to engage in meaningful discussions about issues like reforming the WTO or the willingness of Washington to allow the withering of potentially substantive efforts to create a joint front to take on China over industrial subsidies and other common complaints. But hanging over it all like a thunderhead is a broader European perplexion with a one-time friend's life choices.None of that is likely to be improved by what is developing between the U.S. and Iran. Charting the Trade WarThe U.S. Chamber of Commerce is warning that American businesses and consumers are bearing the brunt of the trade war and is calling on the administration to change course. Crunching Commerce Department data, it concludes that more than half of U.S. states are facing retaliatory tariffs on at least 25% of their exports to the EU and China.Today's Must ReadsJust a phase | The Chinese trade delegation including Vice Premier Liu He plans to sign the first phase of its trade deal with the U.S. in Washington on Jan. 15. Service charge | The euro-zone economy edged gradually away from stagnation at the end of 2019 as services picked up to counter moribund manufacturing. Brexit countdown | Companies most exposed to the uncertainty surrounding the U.K.'s exit from the EU have reduced hiring and investment and lost a substantial fraction of their market value Change the channel | Turkey's president said warships will be able to use a planned multibillion-dollar canal bisecting Istanbul, possibly undercutting a 20th-century agreement. USMCA support | Some Democratic presidential candidates are supporting the USMCA agreement while at least one other is distancing himself from the new North American trade deal.Economic AnalysisChina boost | China's economy showed stronger momentum in December for the first time in eight months, according to a range of early indicators, and Bloomberg Economics expects growth to improve in early 2020. World in 2030 | Bloomberg Economics' 10-year growth forecasts paint a picture of continued weakness, with aging populations, barriers to immigration, and weak productivity capping growth potential.Coming UpJan. 7: U.S. trade balance Jan. 8: France trade balance Jan. 9: Germany trade balance Jan. 14-16: EU trade chief Phil Hogan plans trip to Washington Jan. 15: Trumps plans to sign phase-one deal with ChinaLike Terms of Trade?Don't keep it to yourself. Colleagues and friends can sign up here. We also publish Balance of Power, a daily briefing on the latest in global politics.For even more: Subscribe to Bloomberg All Access for full global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close.How are we doing? We want to hear what you think about this newsletter. Let our trade tsar know.To contact the author of this story: Shawn Donnan in Washington at sdonnan@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Brendan Murray at brmurray@bloomberg.net, Zoe SchneeweissFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Police find body of a woman who texted 'I feel in trouble' before disappearing Posted: 06 Jan 2020 08:53 AM PST  Alabama police said Friday they found the body of a 29-year-old woman who had sent a concerning message to her co-worker before disappearing in December, CNN reported.
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| This Would Be Iran's Opening Shot in a War With America Posted: 06 Jan 2020 11:31 AM PST  A suicidal gambit.
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| Secretary of State Pompeo not planning 2020 Senate run: sources Posted: 06 Jan 2020 03:35 PM PST  U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell on Monday he does not plan to run for a U.S. Senate seat in Kansas in 2020, two people close to McConnell said. Speculation has swirled for months over whether Pompeo, 56, a former Republican congressman from Kansas, would run for the Senate seat in his home state.
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| Japan vows to improve border checks, bail after Ghosn escape Posted: 05 Jan 2020 06:31 PM PST  Japan's justice minister vowed Monday to strengthen border checks and review bail conditions after Nissan's former chairman, Carlos Ghosn, fled the country despite supposedly stringent surveillance. Masako Mori told reporters at a news conference that the ministry has already acted to prevent a recurrence but declined to give details. Ghosn skipped bail and showed up in Lebanon a week ago, saying he could not get a fair hearing in Japan, where he was awaiting trial on financial misconduct allegations.
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| Climate change has Australian wildfires 'running out of control,' experts say Posted: 06 Jan 2020 01:04 PM PST  Climate change didn't ignite Australia's fires, but it's turning them into catastrophic blazes by creating warmer temps and increasing fuel available.
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| The myth of a new China Posted: 06 Jan 2020 02:45 AM PST  Dead center on the front page of The New York Times' last Sunday edition of 2019, a headline: "As it detains parents, China weans children from Islam." Its subheading, equally ready for distribution to newspaper stands in Beijing: "New boarding schools redirect faith from religion to party."The story itself, available online under a different — better — title, is compelling and well-reported. It effectively conveys Beijing's galling oppression of Uighurs, Kazakhs, and other ethnic minorities, many of them Muslim, in China's western provinces. Yet even there, the language seems unduly circumspect. For example, facilities hedged by armed guards and barbed wire where children are forcibly isolated with an explicit intent of breaking up families and erasing their religious and cultural heritage are called "boarding schools" — which, I suppose, is technically not wrong, but neither is it right when the term conjures, for many Americans, visions of Harry Potter's Hogwarts and its real-life counterparts, elite educational institutions reserved for the most privileged children.Such strange descriptive treatment of perhaps the most systematic program of ethnic persecution on the planet today is hardly isolated to a single Times article. (In fact, the Times has published numerous important reports on the Uighurs' plight.) As The Week's Matthew Walther has noted, this despotism is too often downplayed or outright ignored in the narrative of a "new China," a prosperous, modern nation that has left behind the murderous communism of the last century. This narrative is not entirely groundless — China has changed, a lot, in recent decades — but in many ways that matter, it's a myth.The myth of a new China is useful to Beijing, but it is not purely a Chinese export. The American account of the Cold War quite naturally pairs the China of Chairman Mao with Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union, and that link makes it easy to forget that when the USSR dissolved, Beijing didn't.China never had a glasnost, despite years of Western expectation. Protests in Tiananmen Square did not produce a Chinese perestroika. There was no Chinese equivalent of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Three decades ago it may have seemed, as this 1989 Christian Science Monitor piece opined, that China's movement toward "economic modernization" would bring it "face to face with the inevitability of pressure for political liberalization." Now the connection of consumerism to social freedom looks far more tenuous."Socialism with Chinese characteristics" has produced a strange amalgam of autonomy and coercion. China's nail houses and gutter oil suggest a laissez-faire attitude unmatched anywhere in the United States, yet these small markers of economic liberty coexist with a terrifying surveillance state, public executions, and treatment of minority groups like the Uighurs for which "genocide" is not too strong a word. The "social credit" system is a waking nightmare. Reports indicate religious texts like the Bible and the Quran soon will be edited to "reflect socialist values," a throwback to Mao if there ever was one, and religious persecution more generally is spiking.Rising authoritarianism is a hallmark of the tenure of Xi Jinping, China's newly minted "president for life." Once cast as a potential Mikhail Gorbachev of Beijing, Xi has proven to be anything but. By his own account in a 2013 address, the "profound lesson" Xi learned from the fall of the USSR is the danger of allowing national leaders' "ideals and beliefs [to be] shaken." For Xi, reform means getting back to Mao, not away from him. Thus Xi's "presidency has been characterized by an insistence that all individuals in positions of responsibility devote more serious study of and adherence to Marxist-Leninist doctrine," explains Ted Galen Carpenter at The National Interest. Xi is "determined to enhance and perpetuate his dominant role," Carpenter continues, and he has used his growing power to move China "toward greater repression and regimentation, not greater liberalization."The Beijing of Tank Man is, in many ways, still the same Beijing. Likewise the Beijing of the Great Leap Forward (estimated death toll: 30 million) and the Cultural Revolution (estimated death toll: 1 to 10 million), and the Beijing that has violently repressed the Uighurs and sought to eradicate their culture since the end of World War II.This is not to suggest the China of 2020 is indistinct from the China of 1970. Far from it. Economic quality of life has enormously improved thanks to Beijing's qualified embrace of the open market (and it continues to improve under Xi). In 1981, 90 percent of the country survived on $2 or less per day; today fewer than 1 percent do. I lived in China's Shandong province for a year in the mid-1990s, and the contrasts I observed returning to the country a decade later were almost unbelievable. Signs of new wealth were everywhere, most visibly in the explosion of personal vehicle ownership. And despite Beijing's increasingly powerful censorship apparatus, the internet allows communication and information access at a previously impossible scale.Nor do I want to suggest this brutal statism in Chinese governance warrants U.S. antagonism, whether in the form of a break in diplomatic or trade relations or, God forbid, military conflict. The ethics here may be irreducibly complex — anyone who has a simple answer to whether it's better to buy Chinese goods or boycott them is a liar or a fool — but it is hardly disputable that isolating or attacking China would add to the suffering of many ordinary people. War doesn't gentle totalitarian regimes; foreign meddling may provoke a more severe tyranny; sanctions are like to do the poor and powerless more harm than good.There is no obvious route to ending Beijing's cruelties, among them its efforts to eliminate the Uighurs as a coherent community. And I can offer no conclusive argument for how our rejection of the myth of a new China will accomplish anything, practically. Still, I am certain it is necessary.The truth is that China has changed much in the last 50 years, but also that recording a history of only change obscures a great continuity. And though a modern Tank Man could not be expunged from national memory as the original was, he could still be disappeared, tortured, and killed. Half a world away, there is little to nothing we can do about this. But we can, at least, refuse to call the next Tank Man's prison a "re-education camp" and his children's brainwashing a "boarding school."More stories from theweek.com America is guilty of everything we accuse Iran of doing Border Patrol has started its 'small-scale' DNA collection program Pentagon mistakenly releases draft memo promising withdrawal from Iraq
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| Meghan McCain Praises Trump: ‘I’m Happy’ He Killed a ‘Big, Bad Terrorist’ Posted: 06 Jan 2020 09:30 AM PST  The View's Meghan McCain on Monday declared her surprise that people would fear war after President Donald Trump assassinated top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani—a decision she is unequivocally "happy" about.Returning from its holiday break on Monday, The View brought on ABC News political director Rick Klein to discuss the ongoing Iran crisis. While discussing concerns from Democrats that the president is escalating tensions with Iran to distract from impeachment, McCain seemed to come to the defense of the president she has often criticized."Yesterday Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Soleimani was, quote, actively plotting against the American public and that Trump made the right decision," the conservative host said. "I was actually really surprised to see things like World War III trending, just given the fact that Soleimani was responsible for over 600 American deaths.""Why do you think people are reacting the way that they are?" McCain continued. "Do you think it's just because there is this trust gap, if you will, between the president of the United States and the American public? For me, when a big, bad terrorist gets blown up, I'm happy about it."Klein, meanwhile, said there were two things at play here: The trust gap Americans have with the president and the fact that the administration hasn't been able to explain how "imminent" the threat was of any attacks Soleimani was purportedly planning against the United States.In a later segment, McCain wondered why Trump was getting so much blowback over the attack on Iran since, in her opinion, other Republican presidents would have made the same decision."Iran has been escalating their attacks for months and months," the proudly hawkish pundit stated. "I mean, they were harassing our warships, firing rockets to American troops, orchestrated a rocket strike to killed a U.S. contractor and wounded four service members and obviously stormed the U.S. embassy.""I made the argument to a friend of mine yesterday that I don't think a President Marco Rubio or President Romney would have necessarily done anything different by taking out Soleimani," she added. "Why do you think people are reacting this way to Trump doing this?"Klein noted that much of it has to do with Trump's track record and "the way he's conducted himself and the fact that he's sitting under impeachment and would have reason to distract.""I also think if this was another president, a president Rubio or Romney, I think there would still be questions asked, which are the right questions to ask," the ABC reporter continued. "When you use military force to kill a guy, you want to know what was behind it."Fellow co-host Sunny Hostin, meanwhile, further stated that previous presidents had the opportunity to kill Soleimani but passed on it because "everybody knew that taking out someone who's not just a terrorist but also someone who's a member of a government, a sitting position in a government, that's a provocative action. It's actually tantamount to war."Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Aliens exist and they are living among us, says first British astronaut into space Posted: 05 Jan 2020 09:42 AM PST  Aliens exist and they could be living among us, the first British astronaut into space has said. Dr Helen Sharman, who went into space 28 years ago, said it is without a doubt that "all sorts of forms of life" are alive in the universe - but perhaps we "simply can't see them" as they are so different to humanity. "Aliens exist, there's no two ways about it," Dr Sharman told the Observer Magazine. "There are so many billions of stars out there in the universe that there must be all sorts of forms of life. "Will they be like you and me, made up of carbon and nitrogen? Maybe not. It's possible they're right here right now and we simply can't see them." In 1991 Dr Sharman became the first Briton in space after hearing a call for astronaut applicants on the radio while driving home from work. Despite fitting the criteria she almost decided against applying for the programme, but decided to chance it. "Self-belief and a can-do attitude changed my life," explained Dr Sharman. "I ticked all the boxes, but thought they wouldn't choose me so I wouldn't bother. By the time I got home I'd realised that if I didn't actually apply, then they couldn't choose me." Dr Sharman beat over 13,000 others to earn a spot in Project Juno, which was partially designed to boost London-Moscow relations by sending a Briton to the Russian space station Mir. Dr Sharman beat over 13,000 others to earn a spot in Project Juno Credit: PA Her eight-day mission transformed the then 27-year-old into a national hero, yet according to Dr Sharman her achievement is sometimes forgotten. In 2013, the UK Space Agency released statements describing Tim Peake - who travelled to the International Space Station in 2015 - as the UK's first official astronaut, seemingly forgetting Sharman's own trip into space. Dr Sharman said: "When Tim Peake went into space, some people simply forgot about me. "I've never defined myself by gender, and I continue not to do so. People often describe me as the first woman in space, but I was actually the first British person. It's telling that we would otherwise assume it was a man." Throughout her life Dr Sharman has had to contend with the challenges often presented to females breaking the mould - but has always been adamant her gender "wasn't going to stop" her. Although 28-years have passed since Dr Sharman went to space, she said she will never forget the view of the Earth from the space station. "There's no greater beauty than looking at the Earth from up high. I'll never forget the first time I saw it. "After take-off we left the atmosphere and suddenly light streamed in through the window. We were over the Pacific Ocean. The gloriously deep blue seas took my breath away."
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| Erdogan Says Warships May Bypass 1936 Treaty With Planned Canal Posted: 06 Jan 2020 12:57 AM PST ![Erdogan Says Warships May Bypass 1936 Treaty With Planned Canal]( "Erdogan Says Warships May Bypass 1936 Treaty With Planned Canal") (Bloomberg) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said warships will be able to use a planned multibillion-dollar canal bisecting Istanbul, possibly undercutting a 20th-century agreement meant to ensure stability and security in the Black Sea region.Instead of crossing the narrow Bosporus strait, Erdogan said military ships will instead be able to use Canal Istanbul, which will similarly link the Black and Marmara seas. The project is meant to ease shipping traffic and the risk of accidents in the Bosporus, which runs through the middle of Turkey's biggest city. It could create jobs for 10,000 people as well as a new city along its route.Speaking in an interview with CNN-Turk television late Sunday, Erdogan didn't elaborate on whether any limitations would be imposed on the passage of warships through Canal Istanbul.Turkey to Build Canal Through Istanbul to Bypass BosporusTurkey could be courting another controversy with one of the most ambitious projects of Erdogan's almost two decades in power. After years of work since it was first unveiled in 2011, the ruling party has said the canal has finally become ripe for a tender process.The option presented by the planned 45-kilometer (28-mile) canal for warships, including navies from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, adds a significant political dimension to what Erdogan dubbed his "crazy project." It's already mired in questions over financing and its impact on the environment.Endangering Treaty?If Turkey uses it as an alternative route to assert more autonomy, it could potentially trigger an international debate on whether such a move would violate the 1936 Montreux Convention.The convention limits deployments in the Black Sea to 21 days for navies not belonging to Black Sea states. It also regulates the number and the maximum aggregate tonnage of all foreign naval forces that may pass the Turkish straits while barring the passage of all aircraft carriers.Erdogan said the convention was only "binding" for the Turkish straits and the Canal Istanbul project would be "totally outside Montreux."Responding to a question on whether warships will continue to cross the Turkish straits under the limits set down by the treaty, he said: "We would find a solution for them."Istanbul's New Mayor Takes On Erdogan's Pet Canal Project"If necessary, they may cross here, too," Erdogan said, referring to the passage of warships through the future channel.Turkey may charge ships passing through Canal Istanbul, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Monday. However, navigation through the Turkish straits is free, and it's not clear how Turkey would encourage ships to traverse the new waterway instead.Erdogan's 'Crazy Project' Prompts Warning of Environmental Ruin\--With assistance from Firat Kozok.To contact the reporter on this story: Selcan Hacaoglu in Ankara at shacaoglu@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Onur Ant at oant@bloomberg.net, Paul Abelsky, Amy TeibelFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Key Senate Republican wants to start impeachment trial Posted: 05 Jan 2020 09:52 AM PST  The head of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee said on Sunday he wants the Senate to launch an impeachment trial of President Trump within days, even if it means changing Senate rules so the chamber can move ahead without receiving articles of impeachment from the House of Representatives.
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| Fact: Iran Is No Persian Empire (And Should Be Treated As Such) Posted: 04 Jan 2020 07:00 PM PST  America has more important priorities.
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| Germany seeks crisis meeting of EU foreign ministers Posted: 05 Jan 2020 02:16 PM PST  German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called on Sunday for a crisis meeting of his European Union counterparts this week to discuss escalating tension in the Middle East following the killing of a top Iranian military commander in Iraq by the United States. "As Europeans, we have tried and tested and resilient channels of communication on all sides, which we must make full use of in this situation," Maas said in a statement. Maas has proposed to EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell that a meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers be brought forward to this week to agree on a common approach.
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| Carlos Ghosn slipped out of Japan undetected because the crate he hid in was too big for a Japanese airport's baggage scanners Posted: 06 Jan 2020 02:48 AM PST  Former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn fled Japan on December 29, reportedly concealed inside a crate for musical instruments. He is now in Beirut.
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| Diver killed in Australia shark attack Posted: 04 Jan 2020 11:53 PM PST  A man has been mauled to death by a suspected great white shark at a popular diving spot off Australia's southwestern coast, officials said Sunday. The man was attacked at Cull Island near the town of Esperance in Western Australia state, the state's primary industries department said in a statement. "A man received fatal injuries after being bitten by a reported white shark," the department said.
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| The Latest: Baghdad residents say 3 blasts hit Green Zone Posted: 05 Jan 2020 01:37 AM PST  Residents of the Iraq's capital of Baghdad say three explosions rang out heard inside the heavily-fortified Green Zone, home to the U.S. Embassy and the seat of Iraq's government. The strikes come after top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad.
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| China can still salvage 'one country, two systems' in Hong Kong – here's how Posted: 06 Jan 2020 04:07 AM PST  Authorities in Hong Kong may have hoped to start 2020 by putting a turbulent period of sustained, often violent protests behind them. Instead hundreds of thousands of protesters ushered in the new year by taking to the streets. Around 400 were arrested as protesters continued their push for political reform on the densely populated island.The clash between the government and demonstrators is now seven months long and has served to further erode Hong Kongers' trust in China's commitment to the "one country, two systems" formula. Under that principle, the region was granted a degree of autonomy over its own matters in 1997. But a perception that Beijing is increasingly imposing its authority has led not only to a more militant protest movement, but one that is eyeing separation from the mainland.As a political scientist who has closely followed political developments in Hong Kong over the last decade, I have watched trust in Beijing ebb away during the sustained unrest.If China wants to correct this course and convince Hong Kongers that their best hope lies in autonomy rather than independence, then I believe it must permit genuine democracy in the region. Cycle of unrestThe people of Hong Kong have not had much of a say in their own destiny. Not only did they lack political power as a colony of the British, but they also weren't consulted in the drafting of the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration that set the terms for the 1997 handover of the territory from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China. Nevertheless, that agreement offered an implicit bargain to Hong Kongers: They would submit to Beijing's sovereignty in return for the promise of a "high degree of autonomy" on the basis of "one country, two systems."Over the past two decades, major outbreaks of unrest in Hong Kong have followed attempts by Beijing to impose unwanted measures that violate this bargain. Large-scale protests beat back Beijing-directed legislative proposals dealing with sedition in 2003, national education in 2012 and extradition last year. The Umbrella Movement protests of 2014 succeeded in stymieing Beijing's proposed revisions to Hong Kong's system for selecting its chief executive, but protesters' demands for universal suffrage and an open nomination process were rejected.Many Hong Kongers consider this interference a violation of the promised autonomy built into the terms of the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law, Hong Kong's mini-constitution. This interference reinforces fears that the city will lose its autonomy entirely after 2047, the end point of commitments made under the Joint Declaration.With only limited and inadequate democratic mechanisms at their disposal, Hong Kongers have developed a vibrant and increasingly militant protest culture as a primary means for exercising political influence. Autonomy or independence?Efforts to steer Hong Kong toward greater integration with the mainland have backfired, undermining trust in Beijing's promise of a "high degree of autonomy." The result is an ongoing cycle of radicalization. The focal point for many protesters has moved away from any one particular issue to focus on the fundamental status of Hong Kong's relationship to China. Growing numbers of people are questioning why they should keep their side of the bargain – accepting Beijing's sovereignty over Hong Kong. According to a recent Reuters poll, 17% of Hong Kongers express outright support for independence from China, while another 20% express dissatisfaction with the "one country, two systems" model. Moreover, 59% of respondents said they supported the recent protests and over one-third had themselves attended a protest.According to a separate survey, support for eventual independence among young people approaches 40%. Many young people have also come to reject any "Chinese" identity in favor of a "Hong Kong" identity.The depth of discontent among Hong Kongers was reflected in the District Council elections held on Nov. 24. These low-level posts have traditionally been dominated by pro-Beijing political parties. The recent elections, however, brought a record turnout with pro-democratic parties winning close to 90% of contested positions. Beijing's miscalculationTo blunt the growth of separatist sentiment in Hong Kong, Beijing must tackle what social scientists call a "commitment problem." In any negotiation, each side will cooperate only if they believe that the other side is both willing and able to carry out any commitments made as part of the bargain. If either side believes the other side's commitments lack credibility, then cooperation fails. What China needs to do now is show that it is committed to respecting the autonomy promises embodied in the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law.I believe the best way to do that is for Beijing to stop manipulating governance of the city. As long as selection of the chief executive and a majority of the Legislative Council lies in Beijing's hands, it will be difficult for the mainland to resist meddling in Hong Kong's affairs and for Hong Kongers to feel that autonomy offers them any real say over their fate.In other words, Beijing could undercut calls for independence and interrupt the cycle of mass protests by offering Hong Kongers the ability to select their leaders through free and fair elections.Beijing badly miscalculated in 2014 when it proposed electoral reforms that fell far short of the demands of Hong Kong's pan-democratic camp, a coalition of parties that advocate universal suffrage. As a consequence, older, mainstream leaders lost control of the protest movement to younger, more militant activists. By 2019, young radicals resorted to violent street actions coupled with harsh anti-Beijing rhetoric. Yet a move toward democracy could still calm the waters provided the process allowed for genuine and effective local participation.This proposal may be far-fetched. Indeed, some accounts suggest that leaders in Beijing are laying plans to move in the opposite direction by taking more direct control over Hong Kong's political and legal institutions. Moreover, Beijing worries that full democracy in Hong Kong might lead to demands for the same elsewhere in China.If a democratic solution to China's Hong Kong problem appears unattractive to Beijing, the alternatives may be worse. The current cycle of provocation, protest, radicalization and rising separatism can lead to only one eventual result: a violent crackdown that would damage China's reputation and leave it in costly occupation of a sullen and defiant population for a generation or more.[Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversation's newsletter.]This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.Read more: * As Digital Earth gains momentum, China is setting the pace * Unrest in Latin America makes authoritarianism look more appealing to someDavid Skidmore does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
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| Chile Shuns Copper Giant Investment as Social Problems Mount Posted: 06 Jan 2020 07:36 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Chile's government ruled out fresh funds for its strategic copper producer, as it plans to spend $3 billion this year to contain a wave of nationwide protests.Codelco, as the world's largest copper producer is known, needs billions of dollars to upgrade its mines but will need to find other sources of financing, according to Finance Minister Ignacio Briones."We're not talking about a capital injection," Briones said in an interview with Radio Pauta Bloomberg on Monday. "The state has always supported Codelco in such a way that it can access financing via capitalization or international markets."The government of President Sebastian Pinera is increasing spending to boost the economy and counteract the impact of more than two months of social unrest that have shuttered shops and delayed investments. Officials are also evaluating the costs of a healthcare overhaul, Briones said.That has left Codelco to fund a $20 billion investment program on its own, or see output slump as copper grades decline. For a company already weighed down by $19.4 billion of debt, that is a tall orderRead More: Chile Protests Threaten to Dethrone World's Top Copper ProducerCodelco, or Corporacion Nacional del Cobre de Chile, has been able to keep its output steady over the past few years, but the ore it's extracting is of increasingly lower quality, boosting processing costs. Without access to government funds, the company's debt could soar to $21 billion, former Chief Executive Officer Nelson Pizarro said last year. It stood at $18.4 billion at the end of the third quarter, up from $15.5 billion at the end of 2018.Credit DowngradeThe nationwide protests began in October over a rise in the price of metro fares before ballooning to include much broader demands. Pinera initially called in troops and established a curfew before reversing course and agreeing to a plebiscite on a new constitution.Still, his actions were too late to prevent a hit on one of Latin America's richest economies. Economic activity has contracted for two months in a row, the central bank has warned of an all-out recession and the peso plunged to a record low before policy makers intervened.Yet Chile's government is not expecting a sovereign credit rating downgrade, as the country has a relatively low level of debt compared to other countries, Briones said in the interview. The nation's debt levels should stabilize in 2024 after rising for several years, he said.Read More: Chile Seeks to Spend its Way Out of Crisis at a Hefty PriceTaxes will rise gradually, though there's no room to lift them to levels seen in Europe, he said, adding that Chile's tax system must be simple, fair and pro-investment. The government plans to call a panel of experts to advise on a long-term tax strategy. That body will seek to establish a path for tax collection that's in line with future economic growth, he said.(Adds details throughout)\--With assistance from Philip Sanders.To contact the reporter on this story: Eduardo Thomson in Santiago at ethomson1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Daniel Cancel at dcancel@bloomberg.net, ;Walter Brandimarte at wbrandimarte@bloomberg.net, Matthew MalinowskiFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| The Navy Wants Torpedo Boats To Help Deter Iran Posted: 04 Jan 2020 10:30 PM PST  Washington may need more of such warships to patrol contested waters.
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| Spain's lawmakers likely to back Sanchez coalition in tight vote Posted: 06 Jan 2020 03:39 PM PST  Spanish lawmakers are expected to vote by the narrowest of margins on Tuesday to confirm Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez as head of a left-wing coalition government. In a parliamentary session scheduled for 12 p.m. (1100 GMT) - the second vote in three days - Sanchez looks set to win the support of just enough legislators to form a cabinet and so break the country's current political gridlock. After two inconclusive general elections in 2019, Sanchez's Socialist party has allied with far-left Unidas Podemos, though the two parties' combined 155 seats are not enough for a majority in Spain's highly fragmented 350-seat parliament.
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| Plane carrying 107 passengers slidesoff taxiway at Wisconsin's Austin Straubel airport Posted: 05 Jan 2020 10:20 AM PST  No one was injured after a Delta plane carrying 107 passengers slid off the taxiway early Saturday at Austin Straubel International Airport in Wisconsin.
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| Trump says doesn't need Congress's OK for even 'disproportionate' strike Posted: 05 Jan 2020 06:04 PM PST  President Donald Trump thumbed his nose Sunday at critics angered at being kept in the dark over the US killing of a top Iranian general, saying he didn't need Congressional approval -- even for a "disproportionate" strike. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been leading the backlash against Trump's decision to authorize a drone strike against Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad, an operation that Trump only officially informed Congress about on Saturday -- nearly 48 hours after the event. Two Democratic lawmakers announced on Sunday that they would introduce a new resolution before the House of Representatives that they said would prevent Trump from unilaterally leading the United States into a war against Iran.
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| Thousands of koalas burn to death as Australia fears native wildlife may never recover from bush fire disaster Posted: 05 Jan 2020 01:31 PM PST  At least 25,000 koalas are believed to have died in a horrific wildfire in South Australia that may have devastating consequences for the survival of the species. The fire on Kangaroo Island, which was considered a koala safe-haven because its population had escaped a devastating chlamydia epidemic, was described as "virtually unstoppable" on Saturday by firefighters. On Friday, koala rescuer Margaret Hearle told The Telegraph that another important koala population, nicknamed "the gene pool" because of its good health, had been "wiped out" in Crestwood, New South Wales. Footage filmed by an ABC cameraman in New South Wales on Sunday showed the charred corpses of hundreds of kangaroos and sheep lying by the roadside. "Sorry to share these images near Batlow, NSW. It's completely heartbreaking. Worst thing I've seen. Story must be told," he said on Twitter. A South Australia firefighter gives water to a dehydrated koala rescued from a wildfire in December Credit: OAKBANK BALHANNAH CFS Cooler temperatures and lighter winds brought some relief in New South Wales and Victoria on Sunday, but authorities warned and extremely hot and dry weather is expected to return within days and that fires will continue to burn for weeks. Scott Morrison, the Australian prime minister, defended his handling of the wildfire crisis on Sunday, saying "blame doesn't help anybody at this time and over-analysis of these things is not a productive exercise". Wildlife experts estimate that half a billion mammals, birds, and reptiles have been killed in the fires in recent weeks. There are fears endangered species in sanctuaries like Kangaroo Island, which was also home to 50,000 kangaroos before the fire, have been lost forever. Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park co-owner Sam Mitchell told local media the park was expecting to treat hundreds of starving and injured koalas in coming weeks, and is building extra enclosures in preparation. A NPWS firefighting Landcruiser lies burnt on Tallowa Dam Rd in Kangaroo Valley, New South Wales Credit: Photo by Wolter Peeters/The Sydney Morning Herald/Fairfax Media via Getty Images/ Fairfax Media About £10,600,000 worth of bluegum and pine trees on plantations were also lost. In New South Wales, temperatures are forecast to pass 40 degrees C again on Friday, and in Victoria three blazes remain at emergency level despite the cooler weather and subsiding winds. Four people remain missing in that state, and the air and sea evacuation from Mallacoota, a town that was cut off by the fires, is continuing. Early on Sunday Dave Harrison, 47, died of a heart attack in New South Wales while fighting to save a friend's rural property in Batlow. Still from footage showing dead kangaroos and sheep after wildfires hit the Kangaroo Island, South Australia Credit: Australian Broadcasting Corporation His brother Peter said he "was just that sort of guy… He would help anyone at the drop of a hat - he would drive hours to help you". "They had a plan to get out, but I just think he was overcome by the heat, the smoke, the exhaustion, running around putting out spot fires everywhere," he told Nine News. Australia bushfires | Tell us your story At least 24 people have died during the fire crisis. It is believed at least another 60 homes were destroyed in New South Wales overnight and that estimate is expected to rise significantly as crews conduct further assessments. While it took weeks of pressure for the Federal Government to commit to an additional $11million (£5.8million) of funding for water bombers, Australian comedian Celeste Barber has raised $25million (£13.3million) in donations for the NSW Rural Fire Service from the public, including people from around the world, in just three days. American singer Pink and Australian actor Nicole Kidman pledged half a million dollars each to the cause.
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| Ghosn escaped from Japan after hiding in large crate too big for airport scanners: Reports Posted: 06 Jan 2020 06:42 AM PST  Carlos Ghosn managed to sneak out of Japan undetected due to a simple design limitation on a luggage scanner at a Japanese airport, the Wall Street Journal and Nikkei Asian Review reported.
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| US to start collecting DNA from people detained at border Posted: 06 Jan 2020 12:26 PM PST ![US to start collecting DNA from people detained at border]( "US to start collecting DNA from people detained at border") The U.S. government on Monday launched a pilot program to collect DNA from people in immigration custody and submit it to the FBI, with plans to expand nationwide. The information would go into a massive criminal database run by the FBI, where it would be held indefinitely. A memo outlining the program published Monday by the Department of Homeland Security said U.S. citizens and permanent residents holding a "green card" who are detained could be subject to DNA testing, as well as asylum seekers and people entering the country without authorization.
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| This Is How Russia's Su-35 Became A Threat to Russia's Stealth Fighter Posted: 06 Jan 2020 09:00 AM PST  The Su-35 was meant to be a stopgap until the Su-57 arrived, but it has become much more.
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| Indonesia mobilizes fishermen in stand-off with China Posted: 06 Jan 2020 07:20 AM PST  Indonesia will mobilize fishermen to join warships in the South China Sea to help defend against Chinese vessels, the government said on Monday, as the biggest stand-off with China for years escalated off Southeast Asia's largest country. The stand-off since last month in the northern Natuna islands, where a Chinese coastguard vessel has accompanied Chinese fishing vessels, has soured the generally friendly relationship between Jakarta and Beijing. Indonesia's chief security minister, Mahfud MD, told reporters that around 120 fishermen from the island of Java would be sent to the Natuna islands, some 1,000 km (600 miles) to the north.
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| 3 Americans were killed in an attack by the Shabab militant group at a Kenyan airfield used by US forces Posted: 05 Jan 2020 01:56 PM PST  One US service member and two Department of Defense contractors were killed Sunday in an attack by the African militant group al-Shabab.
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| College students panic over FAFSA and the draft Posted: 05 Jan 2020 11:30 PM PST  Concerns over an active draft and FAFSA's role in the service even shut down the Selective Service System's website because of the sudden surge in traffic.
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| Donald Trump threatens Iraq with sanctions, says US won't leave unless 'they pay us back' for air base Posted: 05 Jan 2020 06:34 PM PST  Trump threatened to impose deep sanctions on Iraq if it moves to expel U.S. troops and said he would not withdraw unless the military is compensated.
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| Steve Irwin's family announces it has saved 90,000 animals in Australia, and says admissions are surging as bushfires rage on Posted: 06 Jan 2020 08:40 AM PST  Bushfires in Australia have destroyed the country's wildlife and nature. Nearly half a billion animals are believed to have died this season alone.
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| Former I.Coast rebel leader dies in New York Posted: 06 Jan 2020 05:44 AM PST  Issiaka Ouattara, a key figure in the years-long unrest that gripped Ivory Coast at the start of the century, has died in a New York hospital at the age of 53, associates said on Monday. "He died from illness this morning in a New York hospital," where he had been admitted several weeks ago, Affoussiata Bamba-Lamine, an attorney linked to former rebel commander Guillaume Soro, told AFP. "One of the pillars of September 19 2002 has fallen," Soro said on Twitter, referring to the start of a revolt in northern Ivory Coast that split the country in two.
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| Mother pleads no contest to helping son in body parts case Posted: 06 Jan 2020 08:43 AM PST  A mother accused of helping her son move the dismembered remains of a woman pleaded no contest Monday before a trial in western Michigan. Barbara Chance faces up to a year in jail, Kent County Judge Paul Denenfeld said. Chance's son, Jared Chance, was convicted in September of killing and dismembering Ashley Young.
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| Russia Captured An Unexploded U.S. Tomahawk Used In Syria, And Plans To Use It Against America Posted: 05 Jan 2020 11:00 PM PST  Houston, we have a problem.
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